Transportable photographic enlarger

ABSTRACT

A photographic enlarger having means for mounting the enlarger inside a carrying case, said mounting means adapted to move the enlarger with respect to the case to an operating position where photographic enlargements may be made. The mounting means is adapted to conduct the heat generated in the enlarger during operation to the carrying case where it is dissipated to the atmosphere. The enlarger has a moveable standard containing the enlarging lens with means for locking the standard in the desired position.

[451 July 18,1972

United States Patent Stein FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [54]TRANSPORTABLE PHOTOGRAPHIC 603,730 6/1948GreatBritain...........................355/2l ENLARGER PrimaryExaminer-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Wintercom [22]Filed:

Attorney-Morgan, Finnegan, Durham & Pine ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.:884,475

A photographic enlarger having means for mounting the enlarger inside acarrying case, said mounting means adapted to move the enlarger withrespect to the case to an operating position where photographicenlargements may be made. The

323 3B3 n7 5 21 3% 1 m n w m5 3 8 U" l n" I n 5 "n 5 u n L mi C swm Um.1]] 218 555 III mounting means is adapted to conduct the heat generatedin the enlarger during operation to the carrying case where it isdissipated to the atmosphere. The enlarger has a moveable standardcontaining the enlarging lens with means for locking the standard in thedesired position.

2,797,615 Coleman..............................355/l8 X 7 Claim, 5Drawing Figures Patented July 18, 1972 3,677,636

2 Sheets-Sheet l l I l x z I INVESTOR. i LEO STEIN ll 1 ATTORNEYSPatented July 18, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVESTOR. 515m LEO , M S ZMI A7' TURN E Y5 TRANSPORTABLE PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates basically toa photographic enlarger having a carrying case in which it may be easilytransported and which also serves as a heat dissipation means duringoperation. The enlarger itself is provided with a locking means whichsecurely locks the moveable standard into the position desired.

2. Description of the Prior Art At the present time photographicenlargers are primarily used in dark rooms of photography studios underessentially ideal conditions. Under such conditions there is no need forenlargers having a carrying case and other means to make them suitablefor less than ideal conditions. There are, however, situations wherephotographic enlargers are required to be used under conditions far lessthan the ideal conditions of a dark room.

One such situation is in the military where combat photographs must beprocessed in the field, sometimes under very adverse conditions. In acombat situation it is necessary that the equipment be easilytransportable and also unaffected by disturbances produced by explosionsand heavy military equipment. Other situations outside of the militaryalso require photographic enlargers having similar attributes, such asscientific or archaelogical expeditions, etc.

In addition, there are many amateur photographers who process their ownphotographs who do not have the available space for a permanent darkroom. These amateur photographers, therefore, must store their equipmentwhen not in use and since an enlarger is a bulky piece of apparatus someproblems are encountered.

There is, therefore, a need in the photographic art for an enlargerwhich is easy to transport, easy to store, easy to set up in operation,and relatively unaffected by local disturbances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The transportable photographic enlarger of thepresent invention is basically comprised of a carrying case and anenlarger mounted to said case. More specifically, the enlarger iscomprised of a sheet metal lamphouse, a standard adjustably connected tothe lamphouse, and means for moveably mounting the enlarger to thecarrying case. The carrying case is also sheet metal.

The carrying case serves as a portable protective enclosure for theenlarger when the enlarger is not in operation. From the nestingposition within the carrying case, the enlarger may be moved to anoperating position by means of the moveable mounting. In the operatingposition the carrying case provides a suitably sturdy support for theenlarger. The moyeable mounting provided with the enlarger acts as apath to conduct the heat produced in operation to the carrying casewhere it is transmitted to the surrounding atmosphere by convection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described andunderstood more readi ly when considered with the attached drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective elevational view of the enlarger in the storageposition within the carrying case;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the enlarger in the operatingposition, and a portion of the carrying case;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the enlarger and a portion of thecarrying case; 7

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the means for mounting the enlarger to thecarrying case; and

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the support for the enlarger in theoperating position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The transportable enlarger ofthe present invention, as can best be seen in FIG. 1, is basicallycomprised of enlarger l0,

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carrying case 12, and mounting means 13. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and3, the enlarger 10 is comprised of a lamphouse 18, an adjustablestandard 32, and enlarging lens system 34. The lamphouse 18 as depictedin FIG. 4, includes the light bulb 50, condensing lens system 48, andframe 47 for negative 52 which may be a 2% inch by 2% inch negative or a35 mm negative. The adjustable standard 32 is comprised of an uppersection 31 and a lower section 33. The upper and lower sections of thestandard are connected by rods 36 and bellows 35 forms an expansiblephotographic chamber between the lower section of the standard and, alocation on the housing immediately below the film trainer, as best seenin FIG. 2. Rods 36 additionally serve to firmly support the lowersection of the standard which houses the enlarging lens system 34. Athreaded sleeve 44, which extends in the direction of movement of thestandard, is attached to upper section 31 and is slidably engageablewith rod 38 which is attached to lamphouse 18. Pin 40 having a femalethread section 42 at its end is engageable with threaded sleeve 44 andis held in engagement by spring 46. The thread section 42 and threadedsleeve 44 thus form engagable serrated surfaces. Since the serratedsleeve 44 moves axially with the standard, the fixed serrated section 42engages the sleeve 44 at various positions throughout its extent,depending upon the position of standard.

The carrying case 12 which houses enlarger 10, when in the non-operatingor nesting position, has one open side through which the enlarger ismoved to the operating position. Door 30 is provided to close the openside of the carrying case thereby making a protective enclosure for theenlarger. Angle mounts 24 are attached to each side wall 26 of thecarrying case and serve to support the mounting means 13 of the enlargerwhen the enlarger is in the operating position. Each angle mount 24 isprovided with a hinge 28, as best shown in FIG. 5, whereby the mount maybe moved out of the way when not in use. Easel 54 is carried in thebottom of the carrying case and is easily moved to the position shown inFIG. 3 when the enlarger is in the operating position.

Mounting means 13 is comprised of arms 16 pivotally attached tolamphouse 18 of the enlarger and hingedly attached to the rear wall 14of the carrying case as best depicted in FIG. 4. One end of arm 16 isattached to hinge 20 which in turn is attached to rear wall 14. Theother end of arm 16 is attached to lamphouse 18 by pin 22 and is heldaway from the lamphouse by spring 23 disposed between arm 16 andlamphouse 18.

In operation, door 30 is opened thereby exposing enlarger 10 as shown inFIG. 1. The enlarger may then be grasped by the operator and moved tothe operating position by swinging the enlarger through the open door ofcarrying case 12. Anns 16 are held close to lamphouse 18 against theforce of spring 23 until the arms are aligned with mounts 24 when theyare released and allowed to rest thereon as clearly shown in FIG. 2. Inthis position, standard 32 may be moved up or down to focus the image onthe photographic paper carried on easel 54 through disengagement of thesection 42 42 from sleeve 44 by pulling the pin 40 outwardly, and movingthe standard by hand to the desired position.

When the operator has adjusted the enlarger as desired, he is ready toproject the image on the photographic paper by activating the light bulb50 which, for field use, may be a 12 volt bulb lighted by an automobilebattery. The heat generated by the bulb 50 is conducted away fromlamphouse 18 by means of the contact of pin 22 with the lamphouse; theheat is then conducted through arm 16 to the carrying case 12 where itis dissipated into the atmosphere.

In order that the compact enlarger disclosed above may be suitable foreasy transportation it should be constructed of a strong and lightmaterial. In addition, the material should have good heat conductivequalities. In practice, it has been found that aluminum metal may besatisfactorily employed.

It is to be understood that the above description of the instantinvention is not to be construed as restrictive thereof and 1. Aphotographic enlarger adapted for transportable use,

I comprising:

a housing constructed for external support;

means carried by the housing for illuminating a photographic film image;

a standard carrying an enlarging lens system axially movable relative tothe housing for varying the degree the enlargement of the film imageemanating from the enlarging lens system, the standard including anaxially extending upper portion movable with the standard and having aserrated outer surface; and

retaining means including a complementary, serrated locking memberassociated with the housing and engageable with the outer surface of theaxially extending portion to secure firmly the standard in a selectedposition relative to the housing.

2. The photographic enlarger of claim 1, wherein the axially extendingportion is enclosed by the housing.

3. The photographic enlarger of claim 1, wherein the standard includes aplurality of axially extending rods slidably supported by the housing,the enlarger also comprising a bellows assembly forming an expansiblephotographic chamber intermediate the condensing lens and the enlarginglens systems and located in a space defined between the rods.

4. A photographic enlarger adapted for transportable use, comprising:

a housing constructed for external support;

means carried by the housing for illuminating the photographic filmimage;

a standard carrying an enlarging lens system axially movable relative tothe housing for varying the degree of the enlargement of the film imageemanating from the enlarging lens system;

retaining means associated with the housing and selectively engageablewith the standard to secure the standard in an axial position producingthe desired degree of enlargement;

a carrying case including an openable side for gaining access to theenlarger; and

at least one mounting arm pivotally supporting the enlarger foralignment in the vertical position and pivotally mounted to the case,the arm being movable between the first position in which the enlargeris located wholly within the carrying case and a second position whereinthe enlarger is vertically supported free of any surfaces of thecarrying case.

5. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, wherein the housing is locatedat least partially outside the carrying case in the vertical position,the enlarger further comprising: an easel slidably supported at thebottom of the carrying case and movable from a position within thecarrying case to a position at least partially outside the carrying casefor support-ing photosensitive material below and in optical alignmentwith the enlarging lens system.

6. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, wherein the housing, themounting arm and at least portions of the carrying case are constructedfrom a material having high heat conductivity to conduct heat from theenlarger to the environment.

7. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, comprising a mounting armpivotally supporting the enlarger housing on each of a pair of oppositesides thereof and extending parallel to one another, each such mountingarm being resiliently biased away from the housing and deflectabletoward the housing, a support extending inwardly of the carrying casefrom each of opposite vertical sides of the carrying case adjacent theopening, the mounting arms being engageable with the support memberswhen in the normally biased position away from the housing, and beingdisengageable from the support members when moved toward the housing.

1. A photographic enlarger adapted for transportable use, comprising: ahousing constructed for external support; means carried by the housingfor illuminating a photographic film image; a standard carrying anenlarging lens system axially movable relative to the housing forvarying the degree the enlargement of the film image emanating from theenlarging lens system, the standard including an axially extending upperportion movable with the standard and having a serrated outer surface;and retaining means including a complementary, serrated locking memberassociated with the housing and engageable with the outer surface of theaxially extending portion to secure firmly the standard in a selectedposition relative to the housing.
 2. The photographic enlarger of claim1, wherein the axially extending portion is enclosed by the housing. 3.The photographic enlarger of claim 1, wherein the standard includes aplurality of axially extending rods slidably supported by the housing,the enlarger also comprising a bellows assembly forming an expansiblephotographic chamber intermediate the condensing lens and the enlarginglens systems and located in a space defined between the rods.
 4. Aphotographic enlarger adapted for transportable use, comprising: ahousing constructed for external support; means carried by the housingfor illuminating the photographic film image; a standard carrying anenlarging lens system axially movable relative to the housing forvarying the degree of the enlargement of the film image emanating fromthe enlarging lens system; retaining means associated with the housingand selectively engageable with the standard to secure the standard inan axial position producing the desired degree of enlargement; acarrying case including an openable side for gaining access to theenlarger; and at least one mounting arm pivotally supporting theenlarger for alignment in the vertical position and pivotally mounted tothe case, the arm being movable between the first position in which theenlarger is located wholly within the carrying case and a secondposition wherein the enlarger is vertically supported free of anysurfaces of the carrying case.
 5. The photographic enlarger of claim 4,wherein the housing is located at least partially outside the carryingcase in the vertical position, the enlarger further comprising: an easelslidably supported at the bottom of the carrying case and movable from aposition within the carrying case to a position at least partiallyoutside the carrying case for support-ing photosensitive material belowand in optical alignment with the enlarging lens system.
 6. Thephotographic enlarger of claim 4, wherein the housing, the mounting armand at least portions of the carrying case are constructed from amaterial having high heat conductivity to conduct heat from the enlargerto the environment.
 7. The photographic enlarger of claim 4, comprisinga mounting arm pivotally supporting the enlarger housing on each of apair oF opposite sides thereof and extending parallel to one another,each such mounting arm being resiliently biased away from the housingand deflectable toward the housing, a support extending inwardly of thecarrying case from each of opposite vertical sides of the carrying caseadjacent the opening, the mounting arms being engageable with thesupport members when in the normally biased position away from thehousing, and being disengageable from the support members when movedtoward the housing.